Safe Air at Home

Many home performance contractors think indoor air quality (IAQ) problems result from pollutants in the house that are too concentrated, due to inadequate ventilation. This is correct thinking but not a complete picture. At my home performance company, Pure Energy, we are finding more and more IAQ problems caused by pollutants that are supposed to be outside the living space, but are being drawn into the living space by unbalanced house pressures. Home performance contractors should fix these imbalances whenever possible. To do so requires proper diagnostic testing and a solid understanding of how occupants control their energy and how a house, and everything in it, acts as a system. This is a story about one recent home performance job that didn't go very well.